August, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



187 



The Amateur's Flower Garden in August 



Wm. Hunt, O.A.C., Guelph, Ont. 



DUTCH hyacinth nnd tulip bulbs that 

 were dug' up from flower beds or 

 borders in May, to make room for 

 summer bedding plants, and heeled in 

 temporarily to dry off and ripen, should 

 now be lifted or dug up, and dried ready 

 for fall planting. It is best to dig the 

 bulbs early in August before they com- 

 mence to root, which they often do if the 

 weather is not very dry. When bulbs have 

 once started root action it is not advisable 

 to disturb them, hence the necessity of 

 lifting them up from their temporary 

 quarters now and drying them. 



Dig the bulbs carefully and remove any 

 top growth there may be — which will be 

 very little, if any — and any soil adher- 

 ing to them. Spread the bulbs out in 

 shallow boxes or flats one layer deep. 

 The boxes should then be placed in a 

 dry airy shed or room for a week or two 

 until fairly dry. Then place them away 

 in a rather dry, cool cellar or room until 

 planting time in October. 



THE BULBS TO PLANT 



To ensure the best results with bulbs 



treated in this way, only the large, sound 

 bulbs should be planted. These will give 

 good results for three years as a rule. 

 The small offsets or bulbils will not pro- 

 duce flowers the first season. It is better 

 to plant them in October in groups thickly 

 in the permanent border where they may 

 grow on into flowering bulbs in a year 

 or two if left undisturbed. Considering 

 the low price of bulbs, it is scarcely 

 worth the trouble to bother with the 

 small bulbs or offsets. 



IIAEDY ROSES 



Rose lovers should watch their rose 

 bushes closely to see if there are any 

 suckers or spurious growth of briar or 

 manetti growing up among the bushes. 

 The manetti or briar growth can easily 

 be recognized from the growth of the 

 rose proper from the fact that the leaves 

 are much narrower and often differ in 

 color to the foliage of the rose growth. 

 These suckers should be removed at the 

 point where they spring from the stem 

 or root of the briar or manetti. It may 



be necessary to partially remove the soil 

 in many cases to do this. 



Cutting off the tops of this spurious 

 growth is only a temporary remedy and 

 induces even a stronger and more pro- 

 fuse amount of this growth. If left un- 

 disturbed, this growth of briars will 

 eventually kill out the rose proper, as 

 has often happened, leaving the rose 

 lover a plant that will produce nothing 

 but briar growth or at the best only a 

 few wild briar roses. This spurious briar 

 growth is, of course, only produced on 

 roses that are budded or grafted on briar 

 or manetti stocks as most hardy roses 

 are. 



Rose bushes on their own roots raised 

 from cuttings do not have this objection- 

 able feature, as all the growth produced 

 is real rose growth, the same as the 

 original rose. Roses on their own roots 

 with some varieties may not be as vigor- 

 ous as budded or grafted bushes, but 

 they are more enduring. I know of rose 

 bushes of the General Jacqueminot that 

 I rooted from cuttings in 1883 that still 

 produce a profusion of roses every year, 

 whilst budded and grafted varieties 



Trillium^Grandiflorum Anemone Pennsylvanica 



The desire to have wild flowers growing .-iioiitid our homes is a natnra' one. and its gratification is quite feasible. Tho right time to transfer such 

 vniietieB as the beautiful trilliums and anemones from their native woods to the garden is not when they are in bloom, but when their year's growth 

 is perfected which is .iliout this season. Care must be taken not to be recklpss 'u digging up so many a^ to practically exterminate them in any one 

 locality. The White trillium, sometimes called the Wood Lilly, is so well known that little need be said about it. If the tubers are dug up in late summer 

 or early fall and planted in a soil with plenty of rotted leaves or humus in it a good crop of flowers will delight you. Nearly all of them like a partial 

 shade Next spring and the year after they will increase in number and fize. All these early wild flowers are ra> -it satisfactory when several are planted 

 in a group, in a circular space two feet in diameter ten or twelve tubers might be planted. The Ponnarlvanian anemone is found growing at the bor- 

 liers of woods and on the sides of railway embankments and ditches. It makes a very showy addition to the hardy garden. It spreads by underground 

 runners. ..id if allowed will soon monopolize the surrounding area. It lilooms for two or three weeks. These as well as s<^veral other varieties of wild 

 flowers, if planted as indicated, will be a source of pleasure for years to those interested, and will be admired by all flower lovers. 



